DO ONLINE COURSES SPELL THE END OF CAMPUS LIFE?

Publishing, music, shopping and journalism have all recently been revolutionised by the internet. Next in line? Education. UK universities are now following the US phenomenon by offering free first-class tuition to anyone who can log on, anywhere in the world. But does this mean that traditional education is a thing of the past?

Sebastian Thrun, a German- born professor of artificial intelligence at Stanford University is the name behind Udacity, an online university which aims to provide mass high quality education around the world. The scheme is targeted at students in developing countries who don’t have access to traditional education or for students in the developed world who do but choose to study online. The choice seems simple: pay thousands of pounds a year for your education or get it free online?

The idea occurred to Thrun at the end of 2011. “I heard Salman Khan talk about the Khan Academy and I was just blown away by it.” 37-year-old Salman Khan, is the founder of the Khan Academy, more commonly referred to as the ‘classroom revolution.’ His online school has served up almost 200 million lessons through video and is growing rapidly thanks to an active community and support from the likes of Google and Bill Gates. The school boasts 3,400 short videos or tutorials, most of which Khan made himself, and 10 million students. "I was amazed by it," explained Thrun. "And frankly embarrassed that I was teaching 200 students. And he was teaching millions."

On the flipside, there are certain fundamental interactions that schools and universities facilitate that are very difficult to truly replicate online. It’s the personal nature of a teacher sitting next to you guiding you through a problem, or a lunch break with a fellow student, a class project in the library or an extra-curricular activity after school.

Edinburgh University was the first establishment in Scotland and the UK to offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which are delivered via the Coursera partnership - a network of leading international universities which offer short undergraduate-level online courses free of charge. However, an increasing number of other UK universities seem to be employing the idea. King's College London, along with the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Anglia, Exeter, Lancaster, Leeds, Southampton, St Andrews and Warwick have partnered with FutureLearn, a company set up by the Open University that will offer free, non-credit bearing courses to internet-users around the world.

MOOCs have attracted millions of users across the globe, and are especially popular in emerging economies – a key market place for UK universities. FutureLearn will promote UK institutions to international students, said Prof Martin Bean, vice-chancellor of the Open University.

"At the moment foreign students' perception of UK universities is: wonderful history, great tradition, really good teaching, but a bit boring.

"It's absolutely unacceptable that the number one or two brand for higher education in the world should be lagging in the areas of innovation in terms of Higher Education. We need to inject that front-foot, innovative flavour if we're to compete with the US."

The UK higher education industry, which is worth £14 billion, stands in the top five export earners for Britain. Universities minister David Willetts explained how the partnership – which has received cross-party support and involves universities from Scotland, Wales and England – will put the UK at the heart of online education.

Strathclyde University’s Myplace/Pegasus, a moodle-based learning system offers a combination of learning materials, incorporating the benefits of the Internet Age and the social and personal components that come with physical places of learning. Universities offer personalised advice from lecturers and tutors whose positive reinforcement is beneficial to students.

The future of education, both online and offline, will be won by those who understand that why, how and where people learn are not one­-size-­fits-­all questions. Figuring out how to get universities to accept MOOC classes for credit is a major thrust of the fast-growing, constantly changing online teaching industry at the moment. As Thrun concludes, “It’s my mission now; this is the future. There is no doubt about it.”

FILM REVIEW: LES MISÉRABLES

Famously trashed by critics when it first appeared on the stage in 1985, the film version of Les Misérables has arrived. However, loosely based on Victor Hugo’s immense novel set among the poor in 19^th century France, the production has thrived ever since. It now stands as the longest- running musical in the West End and the show has been relished by over 60 million people around the world.

Les Misérables follows the tale of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a proud and decent man imprisoned for nineteen years as a result of stealing a loaf of bread to prevent his sister’s family from starving. Once released, he is maliciously pursued by police officer Javert (Russell Crowe) for breaking the terms of his parole. However, Valjean assumes a new identity as he becomes mayor of Montreuil and a factory owner. This is where he meets Fantine (Anne Hathaway) whose daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) will eventually fall in love with Marius (Eddie Redmayne) while Paris erupts in violence during the anti-monarchist uprising of 1832.

There are so many reasons not to even attempt the monumental task of converting this musical into a film but none were enough to deter Tom Hooper, the director who shot to glory following The King’s Speech in 2010. It is no secret that Hooper opted to shoot the actors singing live on set as opposed to lip-synching to a pre-recorded vocal.  It is a bold move to deliberately focus our attention on the singer, rather than the scene in general, by always filming them, their faces and their mouths in particular, in extremely close up shots.

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Anne Hathaway as Fantine.

This is remarkably effective when Anne Hathaway delivers Fantine’s ode to self-pity, ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. You may not be a fan of Hathaway, but as the desperate, martyred mother Fantine, deprived of hair, back teeth and dignity, her version of the song is delivered in one tremendous, tear-jerking take.

The cast have been the focus of great speculation- even more so than you would expect with ordinary blockbusters- on account of the demanding vocals required for each part. Fortunately, the decision to cast Hugh Jackman as Valjean turns out to be a wise one. Jackman’s stage work has been much admired, but with Les Mis, he has found a project that really puts that reputation to the test. His rendition of ‘Who am I’ was particularly effective, really drawing out Valjean’s desperation. Eddie Redmayne has pretty much only one facial expression, tremulously questing, but that’s appropriate for idealistic French student Marius, whom he makes touching, so you’re in there, wanting him to choose the forlorn Eponine (Samantha Barks) over the insipid Cosette.

Amanda Seyfried as older Cosette and Eddie Redmayne as Marius.

The star, however, more in his initial appearance than in later scenes, is Sacha Baron Cohen as the dodgy innkeeper M Thénardier, singing ‘Master of the House’ with unexpected gusto, in a surprisingly good French accent.

Primarily, there are three things that make this film appealing. Firstly, love both sacred and cruel, and its ability to transform and transcend. Secondly, our need to fight for change and social justice in a brutal world that resists revolution or is quick to undermine and divert it. Above all, Les Misérables is about holding on to hope in the most desperate conditions, and it climaxes in the victory of love in a context of political defeat.

http://sourcemagazine.org.uk/?p=3607